


Time Will Pass You By

by dreyars



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 15:10:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3176618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreyars/pseuds/dreyars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The clock on his wrist was supposed to help him...to make him more aware of when the right person was about to walk into his life, but to Tsukishima it was nothing more than a curse.  The clock trapped him, pressuring him into making decisions in order to prolong the time before he met the person that was supposed to change his life completely.  Time is running out, and sometimes the perfect match is not always what we expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From the beginning to the start.

“The third philosophical ideology that we will cover this semester is known as determinism.  Can anyone give me a basic definition of what this idea encompasses?”

“Isn’t it…like…cause and effect? That what you do determines what you do in the future?”

“On the right track, but no. That’s more along the lines of determination, or the idea that events can be adequately determined based on immediately prior events.  Let’s try again.”

“Fate?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Like, if something is meant to happen, it’s going to happen, no matter what you do.”

“Closer, but for lack of a better definition from the class, why don’t we just see what the textbook has to say since apparently none of you read it.  Tsukishima, from the top of page 78.”

Tsukishima sighed, lifting up the heavy text as he stood. “Determinism is the belief that all events, including the actions of humans, has ultimately been determined by causes external to the will, leading stakeholders in this belief to conclude that humans lack free will and will come to their end in a series of predetermined events.  Determinism can be distinguished from pre-determinism as it is not the belief that the entire past and future were prescribed at the origin of the universe.  Variants of this idea include Compatibilism, or soft-determinism, and can be identified as humans having a small influence on what happens in their immediate future through free will, though certain events in their life remain predetermined and unchangeable.  Most people in current times subscribe to this-”

“Thank you, that is quite enough. Please take your seat.”

Tsukishima nodded, planting himself back in his seat as the professor continued to ramble on about the consequences and benefits of such beliefs.  It was only the third week of classes, and this old man had already managed to blow through two philosophical concepts, which honestly, only sounded like a load of bullshit made up by a bunch of crusty old men too lazy to find concrete answers to the world around them.  Tsukishima would have preferred to skip this class completely, but this class (called Contemporary Philosophy, which Tsukishima felt was ironic in and of itself considering that there was nothing contemporary about an idea constructed 300+ years prior) was required of all students at his university.   The professor did always try to relate it back to the lives of the students, challenging them to ‘broaden their worldview and consider new perspectives’.  But the discussions always seemed to lead back to that irritating clock that continuously ticked down the seconds on the inside of everyone’s wrist.

The clocks, Tsukishima recalled, first began appearing on newborns about 60 years ago, when the world began populating to the max, almost to the point of overcrowding.  A terrifying oddity at first, it was quickly determined once the first generation reached maturity that the clocks were not in fact a countdown to when the person would die, but when the person would meet their so called ‘soulmate’.  Some researchers determined this to be as close to true as they could possibly test it, as each pair who had found each other through their clocks matched all of the ideal characteristics for a perfect match.  Similar levels of attractiveness, genetically different, similar ideologies, etc. etc.

Others felt that the clocks were merely a way of helping population control.  While he wasn’t as extreme as some believers of this idea who thought the clocks were a result of some government conspiracy that tried to force everyone into a relationship based on an arbitrary number imbedded in their skin, Tsukishima found that this was more believable than anything else.  In the few years after the determination of what the clocks supposedly meant, worldwide birthrates dropped as people stopped arbitrarily dating or sleeping with everyone they knew in favor of searching for that ‘one’ that was supposedly coming.  Hell, even his family made the second seemed more realistic.  His father, who turned 51 just this year, had never dated or even acknowledged another woman before meeting his mother due to the fact that the clock on his wrist still had time on it.  It was a joke, Tsukishima thought, that neither his mother nor father would even bother trying to find something elsewhere, and then, at the drop of a hat, get married two months after meeting.  But that’s the way that it is, and his own clock continued to tick, whether he wanted it to or not.

“In recent years, more and more people tend to fall under the category of Soft-Determinists simply because of the way the time on our clocks seem to change depending on the immediate decisions that we make.  Usually, the decisions we make increase the time we have because the initial decision would have led us to the meeting, while the second moves us farther away.  Has anyone ever experienced this before?”

Tsukishima nods, more to himself than to answer the professors question, but he had indeed experienced this, only in the opposite direction.  It was a weekend, two and a half years ago.  Yamaguchi had asked him to come to the amusement park as a spur of the moment, end of school year trip.  Listed in days, the clock counted down from 923, but as he weighed the options in his mind and finally agreed, the clock burned underneath his skin, dropping to two days in a matter of seconds.  Feeling the need to pass out, Tsukishima retracted his positive answer, stomach unclenching and throat feeling less vomity as the number climbed back up into the 900’s.

“Some people intentionally try to manipulate their clocks by taking sporadic trips, or changing their minds if the numbers don’t change in their favor.  It is in these moments that the free will component of soft-determinism comes into play.  We all know, inevitably, this is what’s going to happen.  But our actions and decisions determine where and when.  There are a few cases that the inevitable never occurs, though.  Would anyone like to discuss this?”

After a short chorus of yeah!’s from the class, coupled with a few whoops from the back, Tsukishima looks over at Yamaguchi sitting beside him, staring blankly at the front of the room with his hand wrapped around his wrist.

“While everyone is born with a clock, some people are a little bit different.  This image is a typical example of your average clock.”  A wrist with a number flashes across the screen.  The number looked like a scar. White, raised, and apparent, but easily ignored if you didn’t intentionally bother it every other second.  Tsukishima’s own looks quite similar. “Most of you will have a mark like this, and someone of your clocks may have already stopped ticking if you have met that one.”

“Others are born with a red mark, a line, in place of the numbers.  While there has been no solid evidence on what the line indicates, two common theories arise.  One is that the line indicates a return to free will, and that the planet is beginning to stabilize again.  The second is that the person’s perfect match was not, and will not be born during the life of the individual.  Do we have anyone here today with one of these marks?”  After a short pause with no hands raised, the professor continues.  “I wouldn’t think so.  These marks are incredibly rare, though not unheard of on this campus.  But their numbers are on the rise, so be aware.”

“And finally…” A third wrist flashes on the screen, this one with a number again instead of a line.  It was also raised like a scar, yet instead of the healed, white look of the common mark, it was a deep, reddish purple, similar to a bruise.  “This mark is comprised of all zeros, indicating that time is up.  There is no controversy at the meaning of this mark, as it has appeared on both single individuals, and couples who have been together since the first generation.  It is simply the mark that indicates that the person’s match has passed on.  This mark is more common than the red, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some of you in this room who possessed it, though I won’t be asking for you to share your stories unless you’d like to volunteer.”

Yamaguchi’s hands began shaking, settling down only when Tsukishima hissed ‘don’t’ at him under his breath.

“And that’s that.  If we have no more questions, we will continue with this discussion on Wednesday. You’re dismissed.”

As the class filtered out around them, Tsukishima slowly pushed all of his papers back into his bag as Yamaguchi scrawled a few last notes into his notebook.  They left the room last, dragging their feet as very different issues weighed on their mind.

Tsukishima nudged Yamaguchi with his elbow as they walked down the stairs in the front of the building.  “That didn’t bother you did it?”

Yamaguchi rubbed the black mark on his wrist that appeared half a year ago. “No, I knew we were going to get to it eventually, since that old man is so hopped up on the concept of the clocks.  I kind of wish we hadn’t gotten a professor who is 60 years old and still has 400 days left, though.”

Tsukishima nodded and stretched his arms over his head, stomach growling after a long day at class. “Food?”

Yamaguchi shrugged as he rubbed his own stomach.  “Let’s just take something home.  I’m not feeling being around that many people right now.”

“Where?”

“The student center probably isn’t crowded right now. Friday night and all.”

Tsukishima nodded and turned to walk across the lawn in between the Humanities building and the student center.  He stopped abruptly as his sneaker touched the grass after a burning sensation started in his wrist and carried up to his elbow.  Pulling up his sleeve, Tsukishima noticed the skin around his clock had turned a soft pink, and that the number was slowly ticking down from 5 minutes and thirty…

Twenty nine.

Twenty eight.

“Let’s go home.”

“Eh, but Tsuki-”

Tsukishima turned in the opposite direction and continued walking, not waiting to see if Yamaguchi would follow him.  He heard an exasperated groan, quickly followed by the slaps of running footsteps as Yamaguchi fell back into step beside him.

“Tsuki, I thought you were hungry.”

“Takeout exists for a reason.”  Tsukishima sighed as the burning in his wrist subsided.  Finally feeling brave enough to look at it again once the student center was out of sight, Tsukishima turned his wrist over and looked at the number again. 

0011:16:45:06

Eleven days, sixteen hours, forty-five minutes, six seconds.

Yamaguchi glanced over, observing the number on his best friend’s wrist.  “Oh, did it change again?”

“Yeah.  Probably would have met her if we went to get food.”

“She’s probably going to think you’re an ass once you do meet.” Yamaguchi pinched at the inside of his wrist, stepping to walk behind Tsukishima as they squeezed through the congested sidewalk in front of their dorm.  “She’ll notice the sporadic changes as well and know you’ve been avoiding her.”

Tsukishima grumbled and pushed around a girl talking way too loudly on her cellphone.  “I just want to pass these next 11 days in peace.”

Yamaguchi nodded, waiting as Tsukishima fumbled with his key card to open the front door of their dorm. “What day is that going to be?”

Tsukishima clicked his tongue as he finally got the card to work, pushing a shoulder against the heavy door.  “Wednesday. In the morning between 10:30 and 11.”

“Ah, I guess you can’t pretend to hole up and do nothing then, Tsuki. If it was a weekend, you could just stay at home.”

“I could stay at home during the week too.”

“You can’t avoid it forever, Tsuki.”

This last comment Tsukishima ignored in favor of opening up their bedroom door.  He flops face down on his bed as Yamaguchi goes about ordering a pizza to the lobby.  When his friend finally returns with their food he rolls over and sits up even though his appetite got shot to hell after that little scare.  They eat in silence for a while, watching the news as the sun begins to set outside.  Tsukishima nearly chokes as he swallows down a particularly dry bite of crust, and Yamaguchi gives him a side eye before returning his gaze back to the TV.   He wipes his mouth on the back of his hand before setting down his plate as he tries to concentrate on the weather for tomorrow.    But his focus is clouded with the looming inevitable hanging directly overhead.

“Yamaguchi.”  The freckled boy looks over when he is addressed, raising an eyebrow as he waits for Tsukishima to continue.  “What- I mean…What do you think she’s going to be like?”

“Hmmm.” Yamaguchi sits up from where he’s been laying on his stomach and taps a finger to his chin. “Well, I bet she’s going to be tall, but not taller than you.”

Tsukishima frowns, not sure if he likes Yamaguchi’s answer. “Why?”

“I don’t know, I just think you’d like someone tall.”  Yamaguchi scratches at the back of his neck as he continues to think.  “And a student, obviously, since you would have met her in the student center.  And I bet she’s smart too; she’d have to be to keep up with you all the time.  Thick skinned to deal with your sticks….and pretty.  I bet she’s really, really pretty.”

“Pretty, huh.”

“Yeah. Remember that thing we talked about in class about how people tend to pair off if they are similar levels of attractive?” Tsukishima nods, vaguely remembering what Yamaguchi was talking about. “Well, you’re kind of handsome so it’d make sense if your girl match is really pretty.”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsuki!”  Yamaguchi smiled, dismissing Tsukishima’s response with a wave of his hand. “Oh, and I bet she has a really intense face, too.”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, not really sure as to what Yamaguchi was getting at.

“Like just…intense.  Especially in her eyes.  You’re the kind of person who won’t know who it is unless they are staring at you across the room.  So it makes sense that her face would be really distinctive, and her eyes really powerful, so that you would know who she is.”

“That’s not some jab at the fact that I can’t see without glasses is it?”

“No, no, no of course not, Tsuki! But it also kind of makes sense doesn’t it?” Receiving no response, Yamaguchi continues.  “We’re always told that our match is going to be someone who is genetically different from us, so that we’ll have stronger children in the future.  So if you have a girl with good eyes then….”

“Stop.”

Yamaguchi laughs before laying back down on his stomach, leaving Tsukishima to wonder about the faceless other whose clock is on the same timeline as his.

\-----

“Tsuki, are you still awake?”

Tsukishima groans and flops over for probably the hundredth time in the past two hours.  He blearily looks up at the clock above his bed, but without his glasses on, he can only determine that its either 3 AM or 5 AM.  He rubs at his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to rid himself of the burning feeling of not being able to sleep.  He hears Yamaguchi sit up in bed, letting out a long yawn before standing up and padding over to the small refrigerator in between their beds.

Yamaguchi pulls out a bottle of water, taking a swig from it before looking down at a desolate, sleep deprived Tsukishima. “If you want, we can get ready for class and actually get breakfast for once.” 

So it’s closer to 5 AM then.  Tsukishima groans again, covering his eyes with his arms as he contemplates the benefits of staying in bed to ‘sleep’ for another two hours before his 8 AM class, or getting up to eat soggy pancakes and sour fruit in the dining hall.  Yamaguchi didn’t seem to be giving him much of a choice though, as he had already flicked on the overhead light and was going about gathering clothes and books for the day ahead.  With a loud click, he locked himself away in the bathroom, and only when Tsukishima heard the shower start running did he uncover his eyes to look at the number on his wrist.

0000:05:20:13

5 hours. 20 minutes. 13 seconds.

Yamaguchi returns to the room to see Tsukishima wrapping a piece of medical tape around his wrist, covering up the numbers ticking lower and lower by the second.  Seeing the concerned look Yamaguchi is giving him, Tsukishima puts down the tape and smoothes the loose ends down.

“It’ll distract me in class if I can see it.”

Yamaguchi nods and moves out of the way so that Tsukishima can have his turn in the bathroom.  Tsukishima sighs as the door clicks shut behind him, rubbing his face with his hands as he tries to come to terms with the fact that by the time he lays down in bed tonight, his life is to be completely and irreversibly changed.  Looking in the mirror that is still fogged up from Yamaguchi’s shower, Tsukishima can only see a blurred image of himself.  He laughs at how fitting that is to his actual mood.  He has avoided this moment for so long, changing plans, avoiding certain places, in hopes to extend his time before the clock ticks down to ten zeros.  But, no matter his efforts, he simply ticked closer to the inevitable as he got older.  He often felt that due to the clock on his arm, he has never really been himself.  Just the opposite to a missing puzzle piece that has yet to pop up yet.

He wouldn’t even say that he was really avoidant of the prospect of finding his second half.  His planning and changing were more along the lines of ‘I’m not ready yet,’ as opposed to outright denial of the system.  He was only 19 as of a couple weeks ago.  He had barely started his first semester of university.  He had barely made a decision on what he wanted his major to be, and now he was expected to pair off with someone he had never met before and be _happy_ about it. 

Maybe the whole thing would be less aversive if he had another 900 days left.  Another few years.  A degree, a job, and an opportunity to explore and learn and be who he was before he met the person who was supposed to complete his life.

But no.  His clock was slowly ticking under the 5 hour mark.  If he hadn’t already covered it, Tsukishima estimated it would be around 4 hours and 50 minutes.

The last 11 days he had spent on high alert, even running into a few close calls as the days got shorter.  Immediately a week prior, his clock had dropped to 1 minute and 20 seconds when he walked out of his 8 am class.  Not knowing what else to do, he ran to the closest bathroom and locked himself into a stall, yet the time continued to tick downwards until it suddenly stopped when it reached 25 seconds.  25 seconds turned back into 6 days, 23 hours, yet Tsukishima stayed in the bathroom for another 10 minutes until he was sure the clock would not change again.  He went back to his dorm after that, skipping his afternoon classes as he tried to press down the nausea of coming so close to meeting them, and probably in a bathroom no less.  That would have been a _fantastic_ story to tell their children later.  He can just imagine what would’ve happened.  This mystery girl (god Tsukishima hoped she wasn’t some janitor cleaning the men’s room), finding him squatting on top of a toilet seat, both hands pressed up against the stall walls as he tried so hard to avoid her.

‘Hopefully’, Tsukishima thought as he finally stepped under the scalding stream of water, ‘whatever happens today will be a lot less embarrassing.’

\-------

The dining hall was less than crowded as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi rolled in at half past six.  The sun was slowly starting to make its ascent in the sky, and no matter where they sat in the big room, the floor to ceiling windows made it so that at least one of them got a shot of sun in their face.  Yamaguchi, benevolent as always, allowed Tsukishima to take a seat facing away from the window.  It didn’t really matter though, because as soon as he sat down, Tsukishima laid his head down on the table, using his arms as a pillow.

“You should really eat something, Tsuki.”  Yamaguchi poked at Tsukishima’s arm with his fork, trying to get him to lift his head from the table.

“Not hungry.”

“You’re going to fall asleep in class.”

“Good.”

“Come on, Tsuki. I got extra for you.”

Tsukishima picked his head up from the table, observing the array of fruits and muffins Yamaguchi picked out.  He reaches over and plucks a strawberry from the mound of melons and grapes and pops it in his mouth before dropping his head back onto the table.

“Tsuki, you know it’s not going to be that bad right?”

Tsukishima makes a noncommittal grunt before reaching out and grabbing another strawberry from the plate.

“Whoever it’s going to be is probably as nervous as you are-”

Tsukishima nibbles at the top of the berry before answering.  “I’m not nervous. I just want to avoid it at all costs.”

“You know, it’s probably going to be great.  She wouldn’t be your match if she wasn’t right for you.”

“I recognize that fact. And I’ve accepted that it’s going to happen whether I like it or not.”  Tsukishima sits up straight and grabs the coffee cup sitting in front of Yamaguchi despite the distressed sound his friend makes.  He makes a face at the too sweet concoction Yamaguchi put together after draining half of the burning liquid.  “I’m not going to be happy about it though, so you can quit patronizing me and trying to make me feel better.”

Yamaguchi pulls his cup out of Tsukishima’s reach with a sad frown on his face.  “Well, you should be happy.  That you get someone at all.”

“Yamaguchi…”

“No, it’s okay, Tsuki.  I’m just being selfish.” Yamaguchi pats his cheeks before letting a fake smile slip onto his lips.  “I’d probably be like you if I was in the same situation. Don’t worry about me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course!” Yamaguchi chews through a bite of muffin before offering it to Tsukishima, who just shakes his head.  “Do you want me to try to come find you after class? Since mine is in the same building as yours.”

“You don’t have to.  She’ll probably want to…get to know each other….or something like that.”

“Yeah, but do you want me to? In case something goes wrong?”

“What could go wrong? I’m just meeting the person who is supposed to be with me for the rest of my life.” Tsukishima scoffs and rolls his eyes, but there isn’t much heart in his sarcasm.  “But…yeah.”

“Yeah? Your class is on the third floor of the science building, right?”

“To the left of that little food court, yeah.  I have a bio lecture at that time.”

“Okay, then I’ll head up there when I’m done with class.  I’ll keep away though, unless you look like something’s wrong.”

“Okay.”  Tsukishima made another grab for Yamaguchi’s coffee cup, but met only air as his hand slapped the table a second too late.

Yamaguchi stuck his tongue out before draining the last of his coffee.  “Oh, but I was thinking about getting tickets to go to the amusement park or movies this weekend if people wanted to come.  You should invite her.”

“Maybe.” Tsukishima rolls a grape in between his fingers before squishing it.  “I don’t really want to talk about this anymore.  I only have about three hours left.”

“Sorry, Tsuki.”

\------

Biology was typically one of the better moments of Tsukishima’s week, considering his major was biology with a minor in chemistry.  It was just an intro class, but the whole concept fascinated him to the point that he really didn’t mind waking up early to go to an 8 AM class.  Most of his classmates seemed to disagree though, as the majority of the 300 person lecture was absent, leaving Tsukishima alone in the row in the very back of the class.  Normally, he sat front and center in the classes required by his major, but today he just couldn’t do it.  He felt light headed and sleepy as soon as he sat down in his seat and could not do much more than prop his chin on his arms and watch the slideshow with blurry eyes.

Tsukishima had parted from Yamaguchi after sitting in the dining hall for an hour.  Yamaguchi’s class was in the basement level of the science building, and as they went their separate ways on the stairs, Yamaguchi gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up.  It didn’t do much to quell the queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, though.

Only meeting twice a week, this class was scheduled to last for two hours and fifty minutes at a time.  As time dwindled down, slowly passing 10:00, Tsukishima could have sworn he heard a constant tick-tick-ticking coming from the inside of his head.  Almost as if the clock was saying ‘you’re not getting out of it this time, there’s nowhere you can hide!’  The sound made his ears itch, and the tape around his wrist was making his arm itch, and the nervous anxiety of having less than an hour left was making his skin burn as he squirmed in his seat trying to think about anything…anything but what waited for him outside of the classroom doors.

He began picking at the tape on his wrist, trying to convince himself not to take the damn thing off, when the professor concluded the lecture.  He took a deep breath, carefully stacking all his books and notes together and gently placing them in his bag alongside the others.  He was stalling and he knew it, but he couldn’t force himself to move any faster.  Students from the next class were already starting to file in and take their seats by the time Tsukishima stood up, dragging his feet as he walked down the aisle to the doors.

The hallway was crowded as it normally was when in between classes.  This floor of the building was always particularly busy because on top of classrooms, there was also a small food court that only sold stale muffins and coffee, and a large computer lab that was open 24 hours a day.

He wasn’t sure exactly what he should do at this time.  Should he wait, awkwardly standing in the hallway as people pushed around him?  Should he try to continue on like normal, making his way down the hallway to get to the stairs?  After five minutes of nervously standing against the wall, Tsukishima spots Yamaguchi’s head pop up at the top of the stairwell.  He disappears quickly, and Tsukishima guesses that he must have sat down on one of the couches in the hallway to wait.  Seeing Yamaguchi makes his decision for him, and he slowly starts making his way through the crowd, trying not to bump anyone and yet he was still looking…searching for someone who looked to be at the same level of distress as him.  He never got the opportunity to find them because just as he passed a door, the floodgates opened, letting out a sea of people, knocking against him and pressing him against the opposite wall.

Tsukishima felt an elbow jab him in the stomach as a particularly enthusiastic dark haired man rushed out of the classroom.  He hissed out a ‘watch it!’ as the man’s backpack smacked him in the arm, causing the man to quickly wheel around in his tracks and quickly bow out an apology before continuing to cut a path through the crowd.  Tsukishima scoffed and rolled his eyes, pressing his own way through the crowd in the opposite direction.

Tsukishima felt thoroughly exhausted by the time he reached Yamaguchi at the top of the stairs.  He plops down in the chair beside him, causing the freckled boy to look up from the book that he was reading.

“Tsuki, you’re alone.”

“Yeah, I realize that. Thanks.”  Tsukishima begins picking at the edge of the tape, anxious to get it off.

“But wait. Did your time change again?”

Tsukishima finally gets the edge of the tape caught between his finger nails, hissing as he pulls it away from his skin.  He manages to get it completely off before turning his wrist over.

0000:00:00:00

“I missed it.”

“Wait, what do you mean you missed it?” Yamaguchi leans over, examining the white number printed on the inside of his friend’s wrist. “How can you miss it?”

“It must’ve just been someone who I bumped into in the hallway.” Tsukishima frowned down at the number, rubbing over it with his thumb. “If they were paying attention, then they are probably still wandering around the hallway, wondering who it is they bumped into.”

But the hallways were nearly empty as everyone had already filed in to a classroom.  There were still a few people milling about, but no one looked concerned enough to be looking for him.  He did hear some loud footsteps and then a burst of laughter from the far end of the hallway, close to where the computer lab was found.  Tsukishima looked up from his wrist when he heard a door slam, looking up to see the young man who had ran into him earlier.  He was walking more slowly now, hands running through his messy hair in an almost defeated motion.  He pauses in the middle of the hallway, hands crossed behind his head and shirt riding up over his lower belly, and he looks up, directly at Tsukishima.  Even from a distance, his eyes are fierce, almost predatory, and Tsukishima can feel his pulse speed up just looking at him.  Tsukishima swallowed down the new feeling as he shoots up out of his chair with his hand wrapped around his wrist.

“Tsuki, what-”

“No.” Tsukishima reached down to grab his bag that he had discarded on the floor. “No, no, no, no, no.”

“Tsuki-”

“Come on.” Tsukishima grabbed Yamaguchi by the shoulder, dragging him to the stairwell.  As soon as he takes his first step down, Tsukishima hears the sounds of running feet slapping against the cold linoleum. He pushes Yamaguchi in front of him, encouraging him to speed up his pace as they continue down the stairs.

“Wait!”

Tsukishima ignores the voice calling out to him, but Yamaguchi stops two feet ahead of him and looks back up to the top of the stairs.  Tsukishima tries to get around him, but Yamaguchi grabs him by the elbow to stop him.

“Tsuki, stop. I think that guy wants to talk to you.”

The black haired man takes the stairs two at a time until he is three steps above Tsukishima, who had barely made it to the first landing before getting caught.  He’s tall, and muscular by the looks of it too.  Tsukishima can feel his words catching in his throat as he looks up at him, the young man’s stance relaxed, yet coiled, as if he were ready to pounce at a moment’s noticed.  He stared at Tsukishima with those eyes that caught him in the hallway, and from this close, Tsukishima can tell they are a dark hazel and try as he might, he can’t tear his own gaze away.

He was caught, trapped like a cornered mouse, yet he was no longer afraid.

“Hey.” The black haired man dropped another step down, now only two steps above where Tsukishima was standing.  “Blonde with the glasses.”

Tsukishima attempted to clear his throat, but no sound came out when he opened his mouth.  Instead he simply gave a curt little nod to indicate that he was listening.

“Crazy question, but your clock didn’t run out just now, did it?”  The man eyed Tsukishima slowly, observing the way he stood with his hand wrapped around his wrist, covering the ten zeros.

This time, Tsukishima made an embarrassing croaking noise when he tried to answer, and quickly shut his mouth as his face turned red.  He looked down at the floor, ashamed, and uncovered his wrist just enough to check one last time that his clock had in fact run out.

“Well, I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I already checked this whole floor and couldn’t find anyone who is within 20 days.  And I remember running into you pretty hard…” The man hopped down the last couple steps to be on the same level as Tsukishima.  He was slightly taken aback by the fact that while tall, the man was actually shorter than him by a few centimeters.  His crazy hairdo did add a little bit of height to his frame, though.  “And I just figured…I ran out of class like that because I only had 10 seconds left after the prof called for dismissal.”

Tsukishima nodded slowly as he listened to the young man’s story.  He tightened his grip on his wrist and pulled it closer to his body.

“Come on, dude.  If it’s not you just let me know so I can keep looking.  I already feel dumb enough going around and shouting in random classrooms trying to find them.”

Tsukishima feels a boney finger poke in his side and he looks down at Yamaguchi who has been standing right behind him.  His friend doesn’t say anything, simply nodding and pointing at the other man in encouragement.  He lets out a big sigh, dropping both of his hands to his sides before presenting his wrist.

He tries to think of something witty to say, something cutting and bratty that will show his discomfort at the whole situation.  But nothing comes to mind as he just lets out a defeated “It’s me.”

“Don’t sound so excited now.”  The man steps forward, grabbing Tsukishima’s arm in his hands as he looked at the zeros printed on his skin.  His touch is warm, and he looks up at Tsukishima with those eyes, a small playful smile gracing his face.  “What’s your name?”

“Tsukishima Kei.”  His voice comes out as a whisper, but he knows the other man has caught it as he straightens up and fits their hands together in a handshake.

“Kuroo Tetsurou.”  Kuroo continues to hold onto his hand as he examines Tsukishima’s face, smile still present as he does so.  Tsukishima wants to pull away, to cover his face, but he’s worried to offend Kuroo if he appears too uncomfortable with the inspection.  Eventually Kuroo drops his hand and takes a step back as if he senses tense waves rolling off of Tsukishima.

“So, who’s this?” Dispelling the awkward atmosphere, Kuroo gestures at Yamaguchi, still standing like a statue behind Tsukishima.

“Yamaguchi Tadashi.” He presents his hand and Kuroo takes it in a short, socially appropriate handshake.  “I’m Tsuki’s friend. And roommate.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well.  But I have another class that I’m already late to…”

“Yamaguchi-”

“It’s okay, Tsuki. I’ll see you tonight!” And with that, Yamaguchi turns around, disappearing down the flight of steps.  Tsukishima watches him go, heart beating fast as he is left alone with the person who is supposedly meant to be his soulmate.

“Tsuki, huh?”

Tsukishima whips around, to find Kuroo watching him with a careful eye and teasing smile.  He wants to say something to defend himself but he stops as Kuroo puts his hands up in defensive.

“Hey, it’s okay. I think it’s kind of cute.  Do I get to call you Tsuki too?”

Tsukishima crossed his arms across his chest and frowned at Kuroo, hoping that his silence will be enough of an answer.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?” Kuroo crosses his arms, mimicking Tsukishima’s posture.  “You don’t have to be so cold you know.”

“I’m not being ‘cold’.  You’re just not-” Tsukishima keeps one arm crossed over his chest and uses the other to gesture at Kuroo.  “You know.”

“Yeah, you’re not what I expected either, buttercup.”

“Don’t call me-”

“Do you want to go somewhere? Find somewhere to sit at least? Not exactly sure what’s supposed to come next but that seems like a good start.”

Tsukishima let out a big sigh, arms falling to his sides as his posture relaxed.  “Okay.”

“Alright then.  This way, sweet pea.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes, but didn’t bother to snap at Kuroo for the nickname as he followed him down the stairs and out of the building.  He walked two steps behind him without saying a word, but Kuroo never once looked back to see if he was still being followed.  Anyway, Tsukishima figured there was no point in running away at this point.  He was already deeper in the mud than he’d ever been before.

Kuroo came to a stop at the tables outside of the library, each with their own faded green umbrella.  He gestured for Tsukishima to sit down before pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.  Tsukishima looked at him questioningly as he pulled out a bill.  “You know they sell coffee here, right? What would you like?”

When he didn’t receive an answer, Kuroo let out a tired sigh before turning around and walking inside the building.  He was back in five minutes with two cups.  Tsukishima eyed the one placed in front of him suspiciously before grabbing it with both hands.

“You seemed like an iced kind of guy.  Since you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder for the whole 30 minutes we’ve known each other.”

Tsukishima shrugged off the comment before taking a sip.  A little too sweet, but close enough. “Good guess.”

That seemed to stroke Kuroo’s ego enough to relieve him of the slightly irritated expression on his face.  “So Tsukishima…or am I allowed to call you Kei? Because I think I’d like that better.”

“No.” Tsukishima cringed inwardly.  He hadn’t meant to sound so off-putting.

“Alright, alright, another time then.”  Kuroo grinned, propping his chin up with his hand as he watched Tsukishima.  “I can tell you’re not very enthused about this situation.”

Tsukishima felt a small grin creep onto his face as he took another sip of his drink.  “Good guess.”

“Well, I just wanted you to know that I am. Or I was until I found out that my match was a grumpy little first year, and not the smoking hot girl I was expecting.  You are a first year right?”

Tsukishima nods, lips wrapped around his straw as Kuroo continues to stare at him.  When the other male doesn’t say anything in response, Tsukishima puts his cup down.  “Biology major.”

“Ah, which is why you were up on the third floor of the science building.” Kuroo’s fingers tap against his cheek before he sits up.  “Well, I’m a third year here. Or more like…third semester second year but that’s beside the point-”

“What does that mean?”

Kuroo raises an eyebrow, apparently surprised that Tsukishima actually had a question for him.  “It means I failed a couple classes and had to retake them.  So I’m in my fifth semester, third year, but according to the school I’m still in my second year because of the amount of credits I have.  And hey, don’t look at me like that. I just have a really bad habit of skipping 8am classes.  The others I Ace.  Flying colors all around.”

Kuroo is grinning at him like all of that is something to be proud of.  He waits for Tsukishima to pick up the conversation again, but when he doesn’t, Kuroo continues once more.  “So, you don’t seem to be very chatty.  Maybe that’s just you, maybe it’s a morning thing.  But I get it.  You’re just shocked to silence over this gorgeous stranger in front of you.”

Tsukishima rolls his eyes and crosses his arms in front of his chest again while Kuroo laughs.

“But the most important part of that statement is that yes, we are in fact strangers.  The most I know about you is your name and major, and you don’t even know that much about me.  Also, double major in criminal justice and psychology, thanks for asking.” 

“Wait, really?”

“Yes, really.  I’m hurt that surprises you so much.”  Kuroo wipes a fake tear from his eye before putting a serious face back on.  “Okay, but really.  We’re strangers who are socially expected to start being all lovey-dovey right after meeting, which is what I bet is putting your panties in a bunch.  Correct me if I’m wrong.”

Tsukishima looks down at the table, neither confirming nor denying Kuroo’s suspicions.

“Well, you don’t really have to worry about that because that was the part I wasn’t looking forward to as well.  I’d rather get to know you first.  And for you to get to know me.”  Kuroo notices Tsukishima’s incredulous look, and reaches forward as though he is about to grab Tsukishima’s hand before stopping and letting it drop on the table.  “I’m not going to pressure you in to anything that you don’t want, but you’re kind of stuck with me at this point.  I’m sure you’ll like me eventually, but until then I’m going to treat you like a grumpy stray who needs to be pampered and won over.”

Tsukishima groaned and covered his face with his hands. “You’re an idiot.”

“Hey, but guess what. You can’t get rid of me now.”  Kuroo reached over, and with a brave hand, he managed to pry one of Tsukishima’s hands away from his face.  “Look. I know we haven’t been acquainted for very long, but you seem overwhelmed.  Maybe we should end this for now, and then plan to do something on like, Friday.  Somewhere you’re more comfortable, and we can just hang out and zero pressure, ya feel?”

“There’s always going to be pressure from now on.”

“OH my gosh I think that’s the longest sentence I’ve heard you speak.” Kuroo slapped a hand to the side of his face in mock surprise, laughing at the face Tsukishima makes in return.  “But no, seriously, try to think of it as two dudes just hanging together.  Do you like video games?”

“Yamaguchi and I have a couple of consoles in our room.”

“Ah perfect! Then we should do that! And have your little friend there too, maybe you’ll relax more with a familiar face around.  And you’d probably feel better being at your place since all first years live in dorms.”

Tsukishima pulled his hand away from Kuroo’s grasp, flushing slightly when he realized he hadn’t taken it away before then.  “Stop making assumptions about me.”

“Have any of them been wrong so far?”

Tsukishima frowned and looked away, because no. No they had not.

“Well, there you go.  So what do you say? Friday night?” Kuroo looked at him hopefully, a small nervous smile gracing his lips as he waited for an answer.

“Okay.”

Kuroo jumped up, ecstastic with the simple answer.  He looked like he wanted to come around the table and give Tsukishima a hug, but he stopped himself, offering a single hand instead to pull Tsukishima up from the table.  “May I walk you to your next class, Tsukishima-kun?”

Hesitantly, Tsukishima grabbed the hand in front of him and let himself be lifted up from the seat.  “I think I’m going to skip.  Didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Too nervous to meet me? That’s cute.” Kuroo gave his hand a squeeze before letting it drop in favor of picking his backpack up from the ground.  He grabbed Tsukishima’s hand again before he could say anything, rubbing a finger across the still clock on the inside of his wrist.  “May I walk you to your dorm then, Tsukishima-kun?”

Tsukishima briefly weighed his options as he picked up his own bag.  He clearly hadn’t done anything too drastic to offend Kuroo in their short time together, so he figured there would be no harm in allowing him to join him on a fifteen minute walk to the other side of campus.  So, he gave Kuroo a curt nod before beginning to pull him away from the library, and through the center of campus.

Kuroo was clearly a much more talkative body than Tsukishima himself.  In the time it took to walk from the library to Tsukishima’s dorm, the latter had learned more about him than he could remember at one time.  Born and raised in Tokyo, Kuroo lived by himself, yet he still had enough friends in the area that he was never really alone.  He was the first of his friends to reach the end of the countdown as well, and while that fact seemed to irk him a little, he assured Tsukishima it was due to his friend’s jabs and not a result of Tsukishima himself.  A former volleyball player who quit playing after an injured knee and a fractured wrist.  He was also an only child with little to no contact with his parents, instead having a grandma who called him every Thursday night at 7:18 pm, no questions.  He had aspirations of being either a police officer or a forensic psychologist, though he wasn’t sure which way to go yet (‘it all depends on what bores me first, Tsuki!’).  He liked zombie movies and racing video games, and his favorite book was by someone he couldn’t even remember the name of.  Oh. And his hair is apparently naturally like that.

“Why don’t you just shave it off?”

Kuroo gasped and pressed a hand to his hair, making a shushing noise as if to soothe it.  “I could never do that! Do you not like it?”

Tsukishima could feel his cheeks beginning to burn as Kuroo stared at him like a kicked puppy waiting for approval.  He cleared his throat and continued on. “I don’t _not_ like it. It just seems kind of dumb to let it go all over the place like that.”

“Awe, you already figured out just how to sweet talk me~.” Kuroo throws an arm over Tsukishima’s shoulder, but casually lets it drop when he feels him tense up.  “Oh, and as our beautiful walk is coming to a close – really enjoyed it by the way – I have come to the conclusion that I need your phone number.”

They come to a stop outside of Tsukishima’s dorm.  The area is relatively quiet, as most people are either in class or out and about.  Tsukishima hands Kuroo his phone, and Kuroo waits until his pings with the arrival of a new text message containing Tsukishima’s number to give it back.

“Fantastic.  And now, I gotta head back to campus. Test in, oh shit. 20 minutes. Can I call you later?”

Tsukishima shrugs, playing it off like he didn’t care what Kuroo did, but he tacks on a quick, “Texts would be better.”

“Gotcha. Well, I’ll see you later then, dude.” Kuroo takes a step forward, arms lifting as if he was about to try to bring Tsukishima in for a hug, but awkwardly changes his mind at the last minute.  He claps Tsukishima on the shoulder before turning away, shouting a quick ‘see ya!’ as he moves on his way.

Tsukishima covers his face with his hands before letting out a frustrated sigh, though he wasn’t sure what exactly he was frustrated at.  The whole situation probably, but it could be something along the lines of Kuroo’s bright personality and talkative nature and sly smiles and the way his stomach seems to flutter every time Kuroo got close enough to him that he could smell the sharp, woody, cinnamon cologne the older male was wearing.

But no, the frustration was definitely with the situation. Not with the fact that Kuroo made his entire body heat up.

\------

Tsukishima is lying face down in the dark when Yamaguchi returns from class that afternoon.  He had intended to get a few hours of sleep after Kuroo left, but even though the nerves of the initial meeting had dissipated, the confusion from the day kept his mind whirring.

The first, and honestly the thing that troubled Tsukishima the most, was that his assumptions about who his match was going to be.  Namely the fact that Kuroo most definitely was not the soft, quiet girl he had pictured in his mind.  He knew that it happened every once in a while, and that no one seemed to think it was  a big deal, but Tsukishima always just kind of expected to be matched with someone of the opposite sex.  He had never even considered the other option, as if he had options to begin with, but the fact didn’t completely repulse him.  Kuroo didn’t seem to be that bad, physically at least.  He was tall, which Tsukishima found he liked.  Standing next to and talking to people drastically shorter than him always gave him a nasty crick in his neck.  But standing next to Kuroo he found he could look straight into his eyes without feeling an edge of discomfort, unless you counted the bubbly feeling he got in his stomach.

Tsukishima had already decided that he kind of hated Kuroo’s eyes.  They were nice to look at sure (actually, his entire face was nice to look at if Tsukishima thought about it), but they always seemed to be tearing him apart.  Like they were looking for something deep beneath the surface, like he was constantly be observed and analyzed.  It was almost as if Kuroo could see right through him, picking through his mind as if it were an open book and trying to piece together the story that Tsukishima wasn’t willing to put forward himself.  He supposed he could understand why Kuroo looked at him with such intensity as the older male did seem to have a genuine interest in getting to know him, while Tsukishima only put forth small, uninformative statements whenever Kuroo looked at him for a response.  He supposed he should try to be nicer, at least speak more, but it seemed Kuroo at least understood Tsukishima’s discomfort in the situation.

Tsukishima rolled over when he heard Yamaguchi call out to him.  He missed the question, but he realized that his friend must have asked him a question.

“It was okay.” Tsukishima kept his face pressed into his pillow as he talked, so he hoped Yamaguchi could still hear him. “He was really loud. Very…exuberant. That’s not the right word, but you know.  Sarcastic, not very serious, used a lot of hand gestures.”

“He seemed nice enough when I left. If not a little intimidating.  I’m surprised you aren’t still with him though.”

Tsukishima sighed and rolled onto his back.  He recapped that Kuroo had a test, so they were forced to part ways a little early.  He also recounted everything Kuroo said about himself, from his location of origin to his major.

“Wow, a third year and a double major.  That’s good for you though, Tsuki.  At least he seems kind of dedicated to school…”

Tsukishima scoffed, not really picking up on the whole ‘dedication’ thing from his meeting with Kuroo. “He’s supposed to come over here Friday night.”

“Well that’s good! The faster you get to know him, the easier it will be.”

“I guess.  He’s just so _loud_ , Yamaguchi.  Everything, his appearance, his voice, his personality.  I can’t see us getting along very well.” Tsukishima flipped himself over onto his stomach once more, letting out a grumpy groan. “This is so _stupid_.”

Yamaguchi is about to say something else when Tsukishima’s phone pings loudly on the small table next to his bed. Tsukishima groans when he sees Kuroo’s name surrounded by hearts on both sides flashing on his screen.

“Oh, is it him?”

“Yeah.” Tsukishima slides his thumb across the screen, opening up the new message.

 _♥♥_ _Tetsurou_ _♥♥_ _: my inspiration~!! I passed my exam today thanks to you_

Tsukishima rolls his eyes and takes a moment to change Kuroo’s contact name to something a little less obnoxious as another message pops up.

_Kuroo : I had a good time meeting you today, no lie. can’t wait to see you on friday_

_Kuroo : unless you want to meet up for lunch tomorrow, I’m free from 12-130. my treat ( ˘ ³˘)_

Tsukishima frowned, because while free food was appealing, spending more time with Kuroo so soon sounded less than appetizing at best.  Not to mention that he had a class during that time.  Tsukishima typed back a message of the same content, omitting the part about not wanting to see him again.

_Kuroo : awe okay I understand. my little nerdy birdy needs to take care of his studies before anything else_

_Kuroo : I still can’t wait to see you on friday though! I’m about to head out with some friends though, so I’ll talk to you later, mr. charming~_

Tsukishima waited for the screen to turn black before letting it drop to the bed and covering his face with his hands.  When he heard Yamaguchi start laughing at his disgruntled appearance and red cheeks, he grabbed the nearest object and tossed it at him.  A pillow to the face didn’t faze him though, as he simply fell backwards onto the bed, his laughter only muffled by the cloth in front of his face.

\-------

True to his word, Kuroo kept his distance for the next day and a half.  Distance as in : he didn’t text Tsukishima at every hour of the day and try to find him after each class.  They did bump into each other on Friday morning as they were leaving their respective classes on the third floor of the science building, but they didn’t do much more than speak pleasantries as Tsukishima had skipped a class on Wednesday in favor of spending an hour or so with Kuroo that he couldn’t miss again. Kuroo looked a little disappointed at that, but he quickly brightened up when Tsukishima reminded him that he would be coming over that night.

Tsukishima expected to feel a growing sense of dread as the day progressed, not the light, fluttery excitement he was experiencing as he phased out the last 20 minutes of his philosophy professor’s lecture.  Even Yamaguchi incessantly tapping his pencil on the table didn’t derail his nervously good mood.  Though the good shifted more to nervous when Yamaguchi told him he wouldn’t be sticking around that night.

“Well, I just assumed… I didn’t know you wanted me to stay, sorry Tsuki!  I made plans to go get dinner and watch a movie with some people tonight so that you and Kuroo could spend time together.”

Tsukishima sputtered, trying to come up with a quick retort before he realized what Yamaguchi’s absence would mean.   It would be different from the library, with people surrounding them and walking around the outdoor tables.  It would be different from the walk through campus, with other students flowing around them in a wave as they walked in the other direction.  No. They were going to be absolutely and completely alone.

The thought alone unnerved him.  He was going to be by himself with someone who was basically a stranger, the two of them tied together only by the fact that their clocks ran out when they bumped into each other in the hallway.  He knew Kuroo said he wouldn’t try anything, but Tsukishima didn’t know how much weight that held yet.  He didn’t know if he could trust him.

Yamaguchi left 10 minutes before Kuroo was due to arrive.  Not sure what to do in the meantime, Tsukishima simply lay on his bed until he got a text from Kuroo to come let him in the locked front door.

He was there, standing with the fading sunlight behind him, smiling like he had just won the grand prize of the lottery.  He walked in carrying two bags in his right hand, and with his left he tried to pull Tsukishima in to a half hug.  When Tsukishima didn’t move to return the gesture, he simply shrugged before following Tsukishima out of the lobby and up the stairs.

“Wow, you got into one of the good dorms, huh?”

Tsukishima nodded as he opened his bedroom door, letting Kuroo walk in before it fell shut.

“Yeah, when I was a first year, I had to stay over in the Shack.  You know, the one that doesn’t even have a lobby or exterior doors.  My roommate and I just had to pretend to lock our door with a fake key because the lock got jammed the third week of class and no one ever came to fix it.” Kuroo plopped down backwards in the desk chair that Tsukishima offered to him.  “And your room is really clean too.  Spend the day anticipating my arrival, did you?”

Tsukishima felt his ears burning as Kuroo winked at him.  He wouldn’t deny that, because he had taken special effort to make sure that there wasn’t any lost wrappers on the floor and that all of his and Yamaguchi’s stuff was thrown into their closets.

“Oh right, food. I brought food.” Kuroo picked up the bags he brought, and sifted through them.  “I didn’t know what you wanted, so I just got sandwiches from the student center.  Where’s your little friend?”

“He went out so that he wouldn’t be in the way.”

“Good man, good man.  Well then I guess you can pick what you want first, because I’ll eat anything really.” Kuroo passed the bag over to Tsukishima, who had sat down on his bed.  Kuroo watched him sift through it, gaze pointed as if he was looking for something.

“Why do you keep staring at me like that?” Tsukishima picked a paper covered roll before handing the bag back.  He pulled his knees up to sit cross-legged on the bed.

“Well you’re pretty cute, for a dude at least.” Kuroo grinned at the glare Tsukishima shot him. “But it’s mostly because I can’t figure you out at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, I can’t tell if you’re just a grumpy little brat all of the time, which I could arguably work with if that’s the case. Or maybe you’re just seriously not excited about the whole clock timeout, which I can’t do anything about.” Kuroo sighed, sagging forward in his chair as he rested his arms and chin on the back. “Or…and seriously you need to tell me if this is the right one…you have found something about me that you’ve taken personal offense to.  Like, it’s not me is it?”

Tsukishima crunched the paper of his sandwich in his hands as he tried to avoid Kuroo’s gaze. “It’s not you…specifically.”

“I’m going to need you to elaborate, babe.  I can’t read your mind.”

“I mean, you didn’t do anything wrong.  I just don’t like being forced into things… and I can’t imagine a situation in which our personalities would match up well enough for us to actually be a _thing_.”

Kuroo nodded slowly, considering Tsukishima’s concerns.  “I get where you’re coming from.  But just know, and I’ve already said this but it’s worth saying again…I’m not going to force you into anything. Ever.  I may accidently push you sometimes, but that’s because I can already get the vibe that you’ll never try anything yourself.”

“That’s not-”

“Oh yeah it is. If you ever seriously tried something, I’ll be really surprised.”  Kuroo’s gaze changed to something a bit more playful, like he was daring Tsukishima to disagree with him.  “So let’s just think of ourselves as….friends with potential benefits. Is that okay with you?”

“As long as you never say it like that again.”

“Alright, just friends of circumstance then.  Now will you pull the stick out of your ass and stop looking like you’re going to run away at any second?”

Tsukishima uncrosses his legs, letting them fall over the side of the bed as he tries to take a more relaxed position.  “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.  You don’t have to be so nervous around me, or whatever it is you’re feeling.”  Kuroo sits up straight, leaning back with a smirk on his face. “Also, I don’t believe for a second that you don’t like me even a little bit.”

“Why not? We hardly have anything in common from what I know about you.”

“Commonalities don’t always determine attraction.” Kuroo cocks his head to the side, grinning wider as he watches Tsukishima.  “I mean, I’m not even trying right now, and you’re still blushing like a little girl.”

Tsukishima raises a hand as if he was about to touch his face, but immediately drops it because he could already feel the heat of red spreading across his face again.

“You are too _cute._ ” Kuroo laughs at the disgruntled look on Tsukishima’s face. “Sorry, sorry! I’ll stop now I swear.  We’re just brofriends for now, until you get more comfortable. Okay?”

“Okay.”  Tsukishima lets himself relax again, finally taking a moment to finally unwrap his sandwich.  Through a mouth full of food he asks, “Doesn’t it bother you at all though?”

Kuroo looks up from where he is busy picking out his own snack. “What?”

“The fact that we’re both guys. Like, not even a little bit?”

“Nah not really.” Kuroo tosses a wrapped roll in the air, winking at Tsukishima when he manages to not smack himself in the face with it.  “I’ve thought about it before, because my grandma always says that she wants to see me with a kid before she dies.  But then I wondered, what would happen if I got matched with a dude instead?  Luckily there’s always adoption and things like that so I can still get a great-grandkid for my Nan before she goes too senile.”

Tsukishima can feel the intensity of his own frown all over his body as he tries to push down the sick feeling he’s getting. “We are _not_ adopting a kid anytime soon.”

“Yeah I know, don’t worry. You’re still practically a kid yourself. What are you? 18? 19?” Kuroo nods as Tsukishima gives his answer of 19.  “Yeah. School is more important for the both of us right now, so I’d rather wait until after we both graduate and have jobs.”

“This is such a weird conversation.” Tsukishima can feel a shiver going through his spine as he tries to imagine the rest of his life with the guy sitting in front of him.  “What happened to ‘getting to know each other’ and just being friends for right now?”

“Oops, sorry.” Kuroo apologizes dramatically before looking back up at Tsukishima.  “Okay, but you gotta let me say one more weird thing before I kick your ass at one of your own games.”

Tsukishima sighs and puts his half eaten sandwich back in its wrapper.  “You’re going to say it whether I say you can or not.”

“See…you’re already starting to get to know me. But okay, serious time.” Kuroo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before setting his sights on Tsukishima.  “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable with this, but… I do think you’re pretty hot. And even though it seems like you’re going to be difficult to deal with, I’m really looking forward to the rest of the time we have together.  So just give me a chance.  It’ll be easier if you do, and I don’t think you really have a choice.”

Tsukishima wanted to groan, to show his frustration, but instead he just let out a soft sigh and an “okay.”  He didn’t like the situation, and it would probably take him weeks, if not months and years to be okay with it, but he supposed he had to compromise eventually.  And getting to know Kuroo wasn’t going to be the worst thing he would have to do.

But it was still annoying the way his heart seemed to flutter when Kuroo displayed a genuine smile at his less than enthusiastic confirmation.  He was so bright, Tsukishima felt warmer just being near him.

“Okay, okay, okay~.  I came over to play games, so let’s play games!” Kuroo stands from his seat, sandwich hanging from his mouth as he inspects Tsukishima’s game collection sitting on the shelves in between his and Yamaguchi’s closet.  He leans down to pick up a box he dropped, making Tsukishima go red in the face as his shirt rides up, putting everything on display.  Tsukishima tries to push down any thoughts about how good Kuroo looked, because even if they were meant to be (which he still highly doubted),  Tsukishima wouldn’t let himself feel something like that about  a _guy_ he didn’t even know.  Kuroo grins at him as he turns back around, presenting two games for Tsukishima to choose from.

After picking a two player adventure game, the pair sits side by side on Yamaguchi’s bed which just happened to be the most comfortable surface in front of the TV.  Tsukishima considered momentarily slipping down to the ground when Kuroo sat beside him, close enough to bump knees.  But given the fact that he had just half-heartedly promised to give Kuroo a chance, he figured that doing something so blatantly obvious would result in Kuroo giving him another nickname.  Something along the lines of Ice Queen.  He may not want to be forced into a relationship he didn’t want, but Kuroo seemed like a nice enough guy.  Loud, obnoxious, overly dramatic, but still nice, and Tsukishima didn’t want to deliberately hurt him by being a stand-offish ass.

It was actually kind of nice, Tsukishima thought. Hanging out like this with someone other than Yamaguchi.  It was a little bit easier after their initial ‘what do you want’ conversation, and knowing that Kuroo wouldn’t try anything other than bumping thighs as he tried to get Tsukishima to mess up on the game made him feel a little bit better about everything as well.  He figured the physicality was just a part of Kuroo’s nature as he already noticed that Kuroo would pull away when he felt Tsukishima tense or clam up.  He never tried to touch him if he didn’t want to be touched.

When Yamaguchi returned home around midnight, Kuroo was practically sitting in his lap.  They had switched games multiple times throughout the evening, and where now working on one of the more colorful courses from Mario Kart as Kuroo did everything he could to get Tsukishima to mess up. Tsukishima pressed back against him with a frown on his face, elbowing Kuroo in the side to try to get the other guy off of him. Kuroo just laughed as if it tickled and continued to bump his shoulder against Tsukishima’s arm until the race was over.  He stood up from the bed, arms stretching over his head in triumph.

“I don’t see what you’re so excited about.  You still lost.”  Tsukishima pulled himself up as well, nodding at Yamaguchi who had taken up a perch on Tsukishima’s bed when he came in.

“Yes but yooooou didn’t win.” Kuroo flicked him in the nose with a smile on his face, hair looking even more unruly after his little wrestling match with Tsukishima. “And I better get going now.  I don’t want to overwhelm you with my presence again.”

Tsukishima opened his mouth to say that Kuroo didn’t have to go if he didn’t want to, but bit his tongue instead.  “I’ll walk you downstairs.”

“That’d be great, honeybun.” Kuroo kicked his shoes on quickly, before standing up and saluting Yamaguchi. “Nice to see you again, sir.”

Yamaguchi raised a hand in greeting. “Taking care of Tsuki for me?”

“Always.” Kuroo leans down to grab his things before throwing an arm over Tsukishima’s shoulder. “I’m ready, sweet cheeks.”

Tsukishima flushed as he pulled Kuroo out of his dorm room, leaving a snickering Yamaguchi in their wake.  Kuroo was positively beaming behind him, and Tsukishima tried to not stare too hard when he finally led him out the front door of the building.

They stood about a foot and a half apart on the front steps of the dormitory, Kuroo with one hand on his hip, Tsukishima with his eyes cast downwards and arms crossed low in front of his body.  Kuroo was softly smiling at him, his face lit up by the flickering light of the lamppost a couple of feet away.

“Pretending to be all shy again?” Kuroo’s voice was soft as he took a small step closer, and suddenly Tsukishima felt too hot. He would’ve taken a step back himself if his heels weren’t already at the edge of the concrete.  Instead, he jerkily leaned back when Kuroo tried to dip his face forward, nearly falling over if the older male hadn’t caught him by the front of his shirt.  When Tsukishima looked back up at him, his smile was gone, replaced instead by a small, disappointed frown.  “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”  Tsukishima ran his hands across his stomach, flattening out the wrinkles from where Kuroo had grabbed him.  “What happened to not jumping into that kind of stuff right away?”

Kuroo grinned sheepishly as he shoved his hands into his pockets.  “Plans changed? I don’t know man, I thought tonight went well enough that I could try and go for it.”

Tsukishima frowned, arms crossing in front of him as he spoke in an irritated voice.  “It didn’t go _that_ well.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Tsukishima.  I guess I read the room wrong.”  Kuroo sighed, shoulders sagging as he tried to think of something to clear the air.  “But, I’m still going to invite you anyway.  Some friends and I were going to go camping slash not really camping tomorrow as a sort of ‘before it freezes’ party.  It’s about an hour drive to where we’re going, but I’d really like you to come.”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on, please Tsuki?” Kuroo pleaded with big, puppy dog eyes.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes at the pathetic display.  “Why are you guys going so far away?”

“Because, it’s kind of our spot.  We go actual camping there in the summer, and it’s got a good place to swim and fish and have a bonfire and it’s just great.  This is just supposed to be the last good weekend before it gets really cold. Plus, I want you to meet some of my friends.”

“What happens if I say yes?”

“Then I pick you up with Boku and some other dudes at 8am and we drive while you get to sit right next to me for an hour.  And there will be free food for you, and we’ll probably play volleyball if someone remembers to bring one, and music and a bonfire, and Boku will probably still jump in the river even though it’s cold as balls.  And if you want to break your 19 year pledge to not consume alcohol before you’re legal, I promise I won’t tell anyone.” Kuroo winks and nudges him on the arm, as if he thought his proposition actually sounded inviting to Tsukishima. “Oh and we’re not staying the night, so we’ll be back by midnight in case you need to study tomorrow. Pleeeease Tsuki?”

Tsukishima crossed his arms, thinking for a minute before finally mumbling out a grumpy ‘fine.’

Kuroo whooped, and probably would have jumped in the air if Tsukishima hadn’t already been looking at him with a judgmental sneer.  He tried to go in for a hug this time, but Tsukishima avoided more efficiently this time and slid to the side instead of toppling over backwards to miss Kuroo’s grasp.  If the older male was disappointed, he didn’t show it as he ran through all the details of what Tsukishima should bring the next day before disappearing into the foggy night.  He considered for a second calling Kuroo back to say that he changed his mind, that he didn’t want to spend a day outside at a muggy campsite surrounded by a bunch of loud guys, but he didn’t have the chance.

And so it went. Tsukishima spent nearly every weekend with Kuroo. Sometimes with the other man’s friends, sometimes alone.  While he didn’t like Kuroo’s friends so much as a group because each and every one of them had extremely loud, obnoxious voices that eventually resulted in everyone shouting in an attempt to out-talk one another, he did like the effect they seemed to have on Kuroo.  He was open, unguarded in a way he seemed to have to be around Tsukishima.  His smile stayed wide the entire day, and his laugh traveled all the way to Tsukishima even through the noise caused by Kuroo’s friends.  And the group seemed to absorb Tsukishima as one of their own without a second glance.  Some he recognized from around the science building.  One of Kuroo’s fellow third years, Yaku-san, was event the teaching assistant for the biology lab he had every Tuesday.  Just having a familiar face around helped Tsukishima loosen up a little bit, even if Yaku was one of the people in charge of his fate and grades this semester.

Time seemed to speed up the more afternoons and weekends Tsukishima spent with him.  It almost became natural, the casual teasing, the friendly interactions, that some days Tsukishima could swear he’d forgotten that the only reason he and Kuroo were spending time together was because they were fated to meet based on the clocks on their arms.  He decided he liked it, the easy nature of their relationship that was obviously more than friends due to their status as a matched pair, but still much much less than a couple.  He wasn’t sure when he would be ready to take it further, simply because all of this was too new to him.  Kuroo was still too new to him.  He was learning new things about the other every day.  The way he combed his hair and the way he brushed his teeth.  The fact that he always had to put his left shoe on first because once when he was little, a stick bug had gotten into his right shoe and he didn’t realize until his foot slipped in.  What makes him laugh.  The things that Tsukishima shouldn’t talk about in his presence.

There were a few things Tsukishima decided he could live without, though.  The constant presence, whether it be physical or via text, made it so Kuroo was always by his side, trying to get closer but not covering much ground.  The pushiness of Kuroo incessantly asking to be with him when they both knew it would happen eventually.  His own desire for closeness that he forced himself to repress because while his feelings were real, for the first few months, he was not yet ready to feel those things on his own.  The constant burning search of Kuroo’s eyes on his face that made him soar and crash to the ground at the same time because he could never tell if Kuroo’s gaze was appreciative or judging.  Those things could serve to be removed for the time being.

Yet, it was around the three month mark of Tsukishima’s clock running out that Tsukishima felt he had finally warmed up to the fact that Kuroo was now an immovable fixture in his life.  Hell, he would even go as far to say that he actually really liked the guy, and wouldn’t mind if Kuroo suggested again that they finally start calling themselves a thing, as opposed to simply being friends.  It had been a week ago that Kuroo suggested it last, never failing to miss a Wednesday with the inevitable question of ‘will you be my boyfriend, now?’

Tsukishima waited outside the door of Kuroo’s last class on the last Wednesday before finals week.  It had been Kuroo’s suggestion to make it a point to do something every Wednesday since they first met.  He had mushily proclaimed that every Wednesday would be their weekly anniversary until the first one year rolled around. Tonight, they were simply going to catch dinner at an off campus diner as the both of them still had to study for final exams, and Tsukishima was determined to make sure that the both of them would finish the semester strong.

Tsukishima lifted his head from the textbook he was reading when he heard the classroom door open.  One by one students filed out, the dead look of pre-finals week set into their eyes when finally Kuroo came out, followed only by the professor. He waited silently in front of Tsukishima as he put his book away before starting off down the hallway towards the exit.

They were halfway to the restaurant when Tsukishima became unnerved by Kuroo’s silence.  He hadn’t said one word since they first met up, and the uncharacteristic lack of chatter made Tsukishima slightly uncomfortable.

“How was class?”

Kuroo looked up from typing a message on his phone to send a momentary glance Tsukishima’s way.  “Oh, same old, same old.  Ethics and Research Methods. Total laugh riot.”

Tsukishima can feel his biting tone claw into him like uncut nails scratching against his skin, so he falls back into silence as well for the rest of the walk.  He stuffs his hands into his coat pockets and watches Kuroo’s back slinking along a step or two ahead of him, only lining up beside him once more when they reach the diner.  Kuroo opens the door for him, and the hostess leads them to a table in the back, nearly secluded from all the other patrons.  It’s not until the waiter takes their order and walks away that Tsukishima finally asks him what’s wrong.

Kuroo looks up at him slowly, eyes tired and bloodshot.  “Nothing” is his simple answer before his eyes drop again, staring harshly instead at the scratched surface of the table top.

Tsukishima wants to reach out and grab his hand, but he holds back, not sure how Kuroo would react.  This was the first time he had seen him truly upset, and he still wasn’t sure how to deal with all of Kuroo in all of his moods. “You look really tired.”

“Yeah, well. Finals and shit like that.” Kuroo taps his nails against the table, letting out a long sigh.  He quickly glances over his shoulder, maybe looking to see if the waiter was coming, before turning his gaze back to Tsukishima.

“Yeah.” The blonde swallows down the nervous feeling bubbling in his throat as he cups his hands around his water glass. “I’m sure you’ll do fine though.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Kuroo.” Tsukishima tried to match the other man’s irritated stare, but he figured he looked more uncomfortable than anything.  “Are you sure nothing else is the matter?”

Kuroo rolled his eyes and scratched at the side of his neck.  “It’s nothing.”

“You can tell me.”

“You wouldn’t care if I did.”

Tsukishima frowned, hands tightening around his glass. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kuroo bit his lip, biting out a curse word as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Tell me.”

At this moment, the waiter chose to so thoughtfully interrupt their conversation to bring them their food.  Tsukishima shot him a glare before turning back to Kuroo who was already trying to shovel the conveniently placed distraction into his face.

“Kuroo.”

The addressed party held up a finger as he tried to swallow down a large bite of his dinner.  “We’ll talk about it later.”

“I want to talk about it now.”

“Yeah, well it’s not always going to be what you want, Tsukishima.”

Tsukishima bit back a frustrated noise as he tried to calm himself down. “We can’t be fighting already.”

“We’re not fighting. We’re talking. And we’ll talk about what you want to talk about _later._ ” Kuroo turned his gaze back to his plate as he effectively put an end to their current line of conversation.  Tsukishima wanted to say something, but realized it wasn’t worth it before turning towards his own untouched food.

Kuroo paid for dinner, like always, before leading Tsukishima outside into the cold.  He kept a hand pressed to Tsukishima’s back, the warmth of it leaking through his coat and making him shiver.  The hand quickly dropped, returning to Kuroo’s side.  They walked back to campus in the same silence that had permeated most of their time that night.

Tsukishima stumbled when Kuroo suddenly stopped at the center of campus.  It was already quite late, only a few students walked by as they left their evening classes.  Kuroo dropped down onto a bench, patting the seat beside him before stretching his arm over the back of it.  He sat down next to him, too close to be strangers, yet too far apart to be familiar.

“Well, you’re the one who wanted to talk,” Kuroo says after a few minutes of prolonged silence.  He doesn’t look at Tsukishima as he speaks, instead staring up the night sky.

“I was waiting for you to tell me what was wrong.  Or what you meant when you said I wouldn’t care.” Tsukishima kept his hands balled in his lap as he spoke, even though he was physically aching to reach out and touch Kuroo.

Kuroo sighed, removing his arm from the back of the bench, and removing the subsequent warmth Tsukishima felt on the back of his shoulders from having Kuroo’s arm so close. “I don’t know. I thought you’d change. Or at least warm up a little after some time.  But I still can’t read you at all. I don’t know what you’re thinking. What you’re feeling.  It’s like sometimes, I feel you’re getting better and getting used to being with me, and then the next time I see you, it’s like you can’t even stand to look at me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it though?  Like now, you’re sitting so far away from me that I’d have difficulty hearing you if the center of campus was crowded. And every time I try to touch you, like even just a hand on the back or something, you shake me off like I disgust you.  It’s like we haven’t made any progress since the first time we met.  You’re still cold.”

“Kuroo, I-”

“Sometimes I feel like we made a mistake.  That we missed the people we were actually looking for and that they found each other and we found each other. Or that everyone’s wrong and we aren’t actually meant to be with the person whose clocks matched with ours.  And you know what sucks?”

Tsukishima bit his tongue, waiting for Kuroo to continue as he held back his emotions.

“What sucks is that I really started liking you from day one.  I was sure it was you because I just felt this pull to you, on top of the coincidence of our clocks matching up.  And it’s like you don’t even care at all.  I don’t think we’ve done one thing that I haven’t asked you to. You never seem to listen when I tell you things-”

“Yes I do.”

“Whatever.  I just…I can’t stand to be around you right now because it feels like I’m putting in 90% and you 10. Maybe.  I know part of it is probably just who you are, because we are really different, but it makes me sick how it doesn’t even seem like you want me to be around.”

“I do though.”

Tsukishima could feel the panic in his voice, but Kuroo didn’t even seem to be listening anymore.  “I just…need some time.  I can’t really break up with you, because we’re still supposedly ‘soulmates’ and hey, that’s right. You still haven’t agreed to date me.” Kuroo stands up, arms crossed behind his head as he turns around to face Tsukishima.  “I just want to finish this semester out without having to worry about dealing with you right now, okay?”

Tsukishima nodded, choking out an “okay” before looking down at his hands.

“I’ll call you…wait no, you can call me after Thursday of next week.  My last final is at noon, so maybe I’ll feel like doing something then.”  He waits until Tsukishima nods again to continue.  “Alright well…maybe we can fix this after that. I’ll see you around.”

Tsukishima sat on the bench in the center of campus for a long while after he watched Kuroo leave. He wasn’t sure what to do next. He felt like crying, but he wouldn’t let the tears fall no matter how badly they burned his eyes.  He only got up and moved when a girl tapped his shoulder, asking if he was alright.  She never got an answer, no more than a gruff growl as Tsukishima shot up and walked in the direction of his dorm.

He didn’t understand what had just happened.  He thought he was getting better. Slowly and one piece at a time, sure, but still better.  Maybe he didn’t realize what he was doing because he was feeling closer to Kuroo on the inside.  But he supposed Kuroo was right in a way.  He never let Kuroo’s hands linger too long. He never told Kuroo how he felt unless probed repeatedly.  Up until this point, he had shot down every proposal Kuroo has offered up to him for a real relationship coldly.  He could understand how Kuroo felt, even though only slightly. 

He wanted to run after him, to call him up and ask Kuroo to let him apologize. But he didn’t because Kuroo said to wait until after finals were over. So instead he walked home with his head hung low, ignoring Yamaguchi’s questions when he entered the dorm.

It wasn’t until he was finally nodding off to sleep that he realized that this was the first Wednesday since they met that Kuroo didn’t ask him to be his boyfriend.

\------

Tsukishima kept his distance, as promised, but the lack of Kuroo was slightly disconcerting after a full three months of him being there at every turn.  On Friday, where Kuroo usually waited at the door of his Bio lecture, there was no one familiar.  He considered waiting at the door of Kuroo’s classroom instead, but the room was empty as he passed.  The weekend passed slowly, without one request for a study break from the rambunctious bed head.  Tsukishima concluded his finals on Wednesday afternoon, and already had Kuroo’s number pulled up on his screen before closing the window, deciding to wait the one day more, as instructed.

It was only one day.

And it was only the first Wednesday that Kuroo had been absent since September.  So instead of calling, he simply texted a small _‘I miss you’_ that never got replied to.

On Thursday, Tsukishima didn’t hesitate to call exactly two hours after Kuroo’s last final was scheduled to begin.  When he received no answer, he waited impatiently for another 30 minutes before calling again.

“What?” Kuroo picked up on what was probably the second to last ring, irritated and flustered.

“You…you told me to call you today.  Do you want to celebrate finals ending?”

“Nah, sorry. Already made plans.”

“Oh okay…I just thought you said you’d want to do something today.”

“I said I may be willing to do something today.  Look I gotta go now.”

“Don’t forget I’m leaving-” The line cuts off before Tsukishima has a chance to finish his sentence.  He mumbles out a quiet “tomorrow” before tossing his phone to the end of his bed and covering his face with his arms.  Since he lived in a dorm, he was required to go home during the winter break, meaning that for the next month, he’d be at home in Miyagi instead of here.  He desperately wanted to see Kuroo before then, to try to get him to believe that this wasn’t some cosmic mistake. But he supposed he would have to wait because this wasn’t a conversation he could have over the phone.

So quietly, he packed up his essentials on Thursday night instead of going out to meet Kuroo.  He had breakfast with Yamaguchi Friday morning instead of going to meet Kuroo.  And at noon, he was driving back to Miyagi in the backseat of Yamaguchi’s mother’s car instead of staying here with Kuroo.  He wasn’t exactly sure what the other was going to be doing over the break since he didn’t have much of a relationship with his own parents.  Maybe he could find out, if Kuroo felt the decency to answer the phone the next time he called.

Every other day, then every three days, then once a week for the next month Tsukishima tried to contact Kuroo. Sometimes he got a pleasant response. Sometimes he got a hurried, cold dismissal of why Kuroo couldn’t talk that day.  The entire week before Tsukishima returned to his dorm he left Kuroo alone, hoping that his silence would spur Kuroo into action again.  But there was nothing but silence.

For the first week or so of Kuroo ignoring him, Tsukishima felt desolate. Empty.  Without the constant presence of Kuroo’s bright personality in some shape or form, he almost felt lonely.  But by the end of the break, he was downright furious. Every time he picked up his phone to find it void of Kuroo’s contact picture, another drop of anger pooled in his stomach, boiling and rolling over until he nearly crushed his phone by throwing it against the wall.

Three loud knocks was all the warning Kuroo got when he returned to school for the spring semester.  After ditching his things and Yamaguchi at their dorm room, Tsukishima made a beeline to Kuroo’s apartment, hoping to find him awake, alone, and ready to talk.

Kuroo cracked open the door, eyes foggy with sleep even though it was already 1pm. “Tsukishima, what are you-”

He pushed past him, vaguely aware that his elbow probably just caught Kuroo in the stomach.  He stormed into the other’s living room, and finding no evidence that any of Kuroo’s friends were present he whirls back around, sticking a finger in Kuroo’s shocked face. “How dare you tell me all of that bullshit at the end of the semester and then not talk to me for a month.”

“Tsukishima wait-”

“No, you listen to me because you’ve been ignoring me the entire break.  You think I don’t care? Then why has this break been driving me crazy when I can’t get close enough to see you, and you won’t answer me so that I know you didn’t do something stupid and die?” Tsukishima knows his voice is shaking now, his hands balled up at his sides as he tries to keep himself from swinging at Kuroo.

“Tsuki, please calm down…”

“No, I’m not going to calm down until you get it through your thick skull that I’m the only one that didn’t think that this was a mistake aside from the first few minutes.”  Tsukishima pinches his forehead between his fingers before running them through his hair.  “How could you even say that? Do you really think that?  Because if you do, I can leave now and you’ll never see me again.”

Kuroo takes a tentative step forward, closing the distance between them in one smooth stride. Tsukishima can feel the tension begin to leave his body when Kuroo rests his hands on his shoulders.  His grip is tight and warm and Tsukishima lets out a shaky sigh as Kuroo fixes him with that same stare that caught him over four months ago.  “I don’t want you to leave.”

“Then why did you say everything that you did? And why did you ignore me?”

“Well, I was still pretty pissed right before you left.  It doesn’t excuse making you feel like this but…you were kind of an ass too.  I couldn’t read your emotions for the longest time so I couldn’t see that you really were as invested as you are…”

Tsukishima nodded, swallowing thickly as he waited for Kuroo to continue.

“And I didn’t ignore you…intentionally at least.  I went to stay with my grandma for the last three weeks and I only got back yesterday. Phone service sucks at her place and the times that I responded to you were when I was up in town. I’m sorry, I should’ve told you, but like I said I was still pretty pissed from our fight before you left.”

Tsukishima felt his shoulders sag, and Kuroo quickly tried to lift his hands away.  Tsukishima caught them in his own, his fingers circling around Kuroo’s wrists as he held them in place.  Pulling on them slightly, Tsukishima tugged Kuroo forward until he could rest his head on the older man’s shoulder, arms slipping around Kuroo’s back and fingers digging into his shirt.  Kuroo stood still, as if in awe, before letting his arms circle around Tsukishima’s neck.  With one hand, he pressed against the back of Tsukishima’s blonde head, keeping him in place.  His own head fell forward, face pressing into the side of Tsukishima’s neck.

“I’m sorry”, Tsukishima mumbled against Kuroo’s shoulder, voice muffled by the fabric pressing against his lips. He squeezed Kuroo tighter as the other male ran his fingers through his hair, soothingly scratching at his scalp with his nails.

“Hey, I’m sorry too.” Kuroo straightened up, pulling Tsukishima far enough away so that he could see his face, but still close enough to keep their arms wrapped around one another.  “I should’ve been more patient with you.  I knew you’d come around eventually, but I got tired of waiting I guess. Never really been good at that.”

Tsukishima pouted, bottom lip sticking out as he looked at Kuroo.  “You get cranky when your microwave burritos aren’t cooked after the minimum listed time. Three months is a long time for you to wait.”

“Hey, don’t compare yourself to a microwave burrito. I still should’ve been more patient with you.  I knew all along that this was a big deal for you, and that it would take a while for you to be ready for any kind of romantic stuff.”  Kuroo pulled Tsukishima forward again until they were pressed chest to chest.  “But I’ve got what I wanted now, so it doesn’t matter.  I guess I just have to make up for a month of silence huh?”

Tsukishima shakes his head, even though Kuroo can’t really tell from how close they are standing.  Instead, Tsukishima simply pulls back far enough to fit his mouth against Kuroo’s.  He smiled to himself as Kuroo gasped before pushing forward, hands moving to cup Tsukishima’s jaw.  Tsukishima tried to deepen the kiss, but Kuroo pulled away laughing when Tsukishima’s teeth clacked against his own.

Tsukishima could feel his face flush with embarrassment and tried to hide on Kuroo’s shoulder again, but the older man had him held tight. “Sorry…I don’t really know…”

“Hey, and you think I do?” Kuroo’s thumbs rubbed soothing circles on the apples of Tsukishima’s cheeks as he smiled. “This whole clock thing doesn’t really make for easy dating if no one wants to date someone who doesn’t match with them.  I may look like the lady’s man of the century, but I’m as useless as you are right now.”

Tsukishima scowled at the useless comment, but still let himself stay relaxed under Kuroo’s hands. “You seem like the type of guy who would have found a way.”

“Tsuki, I’m offended.” Kuroo leaned forward until his forehead was pressing against Tsukishima’s.  “I was waiting for you, dummy.”  Kuroo closed the gap between them, pecking Tsukishima on the lips once more before pulling away.  Seeing the ruffled state Tsukishima was in, Kuroo laughed.  “Don’t give me that, cutie pie.  We’re not doing anything more than that today for two reasons. 1. We just got out of a fight and I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to do to try and make up. And 2. It took you three…no four months to _actually_ let kiss you, so I’m not going to buy any of that ‘I’m ready now’ crap.  Like I said, I waited for you.  I can wait longer because all I wanted was to know how you’re feeling.”

He knew Kuroo was right.  He wanted to show Kuroo how much he meant to him, but he knew if he tried to rush in too soon, they’d be right back where they started.  Kuroo pulled him down onto his couch, leaning Tsukishima against his chest as they sat in a comfortable silence, and he knew.  He knew it wasn’t going to be easy.  Far from it actually.  They were only four months in to this thing, whatever it was meant to be in the end.  They still had a good rest of their lives to learn, to fight and drive each other crazy, to make up, and to get together.

It was kind of ironic, Tsukishima thought.  All of his life, he had been dreading the moment that his clock ticked down to zeros, because in his mind, his life would be over at that point.  He’d have no choices in what happened, he’d just be stuck forever in a partnership that was predetermined by god knows what.  But for four months now, the clock had been still. Not counting down or up or any other direction a clock could go.  The clock had at one time kept him captive in fear, trapping all of his decisions, making his life a living hell as he tried to avoid the eventual meeting of the man who now has his arms wrapped around his chest.  But now, as it lay still, a row of 10 zeros identical to Kuroo’s own, Tsukishima had no idea what was coming next.  Sure, he had to deal with Kuroo for every day for the rest of his life, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.  He had someone who cared about him, maybe even loved him one day, who didn’t want to leave.  He had a support for all the stupid decisions he would likely make throughout college and years after.  There was a freedom in not knowing who or what the future held, and a comfort in Kuroo’s embrace.

He remembered back to the first few weeks of the last semester, and his god awful philosophy class.  He thought about that theory his professor tried to shove down the classes throats, the one about everything being predetermined by events that have already occurred, and no matter what you do in the meantime to change it, it’ll still happen eventually.  He knew that there was still some things in his life that he figured would happen, like graduating from college.  But what he did with the time he did in between was up to him.

It wasn’t going to be easy.  He had no indicators of what the future was going to hold anymore and that scared him, but he had someone willing to go on the crazy ride of the future with him.

With Kuroo, he was ready to face every new walk of life.


	2. 8 months later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i.e. 8 months after the end of the first chapter. NSFW warning for this part.

Kuroo stretched his arms above his head as he walked up the seemingly endless flight of stairs to get to his 6th floor apartment.  The semester had barely started, but he was determined to graduate in the spring with the rest of his class, so the extra coursework was not doing well to keep him energetic and effectively awake like he normally preferred.  All he wanted was to go inside, kick off his jeans, and plop into bed.  He should probably call Tsuki…make sure he didn’t need anything before soaring off into dreamland, but he realized he didn’t need to bother when he was hit with a blast of fresh, deliciously scented air as soon as he enters. It has a hint of burnt fish in it too, but Kuroo doesn’t say anything as he comes up behind Tsukishima, arms wrapping around his thin waist.

“What did I do to deserve this?”

Tsukishima jumps when he realizes how close Kuroo’s lips are to his face.  He clicks his tongue behind his teeth and tries to flip what he’s cooking when Kuroo gives his stomach a tight squeeze. “Did you not even pay attention to what today was?”

“Oh ho?” Kuroo looks around Tsukishima’s head to the calendar on the wall, eyes widening when he realized that no, he hadn’t been paying attention. “Well happy one year then.  I’m sorry I’m such a jerk boyfriend.”

Tsukishima sighs at Kuroo’s melodramatic display and shrugs his shoulders. “Oh well, I guess you just have to make it up to me this weekend.”

“Oh? What did you have in mind?”

The blonde shrugs again, his shoulder bumping Kuroo’s chin as he slides his cooking onto two plates.  “I tried to fix the kind of fish you liked, but I accidently burned it, so I hope this is okay.”

Kuroo nods and reaches around to pluck something off the plate, never letting go of Tsukishima.  He complained that he couldn’t walk with Kuroo pretending to be a backpack, but somehow he managed to get everything to the table without dropping anything.  Kuroo plopped down in the chair Tsukishima pulled out, pulling the taller boy down on top of him.  Tsukishima blushed, knowing he was much too big to be sitting on anyone’s lap, but allowed Kuroo to enjoy himself as he fed him little bits off of their plates.  Kuroo sighed when they were done, head resting against Tsukishima’s chest as the blonde’s long fingers combed through the back of his hair.

“Thank you, Tsuki.  I don’t think I’ve eaten so well since I last saw my grandma a month ago.” Tsukishima scoffed, and Kuroo was sure he was about to get scolded when he looked up at the other boy.  His cheeks were red, and he was biting his lips as if he were about to explode if he didn’t say what he needed to soon. “What’s up Tsuki?”

“Do you- I mean…” Tsukishima groaned and let his head plop down on Kuroo’s.  His mess of black hair covered Tsukishima’s red cheeks, but couldn’t quite mask the pink already starting to grow on his ears. After a few minutes of Kuroo poking his boney side, Tsukishima lifted his head up again, a newfound determined look on his face. “Let me up.”

Kuroo immediately obliged, even letting Tsukishima grab his hand and pull him out of the kitchen once he stood.  It was only when Tsukishima pulled Kuroo down the short hallway leading to his bedroom did the gears finally kick into place.  “Oooooh…”

Tsukishima’s blush crept onto the back of his neck and his shoulders tensed at Kuroo’s realization.  But, he didn’t give his boyfriend a chance to be surprised as he turned around, grabbing him by the shoulders as he pulled Kuroo into his room.  With his palm, he shut the door behind them before backpedalling the short distance between the door and the bed.  It wasn’t a big room, just enough for Kuroo, and sometimes Tsukishima when he stayed over too late on the weekends.  He’d spent the night with Kuroo multiple times, but this would still be their first time attempting this.

Tsukishima grabbed Kuroo by the collar when the back of his knees hit the bed.  He yanked him forward roughly, lips making a wet smacking noise as they collided with Kuroo’s.  He could feel his boyfriend’s catlike grin spread across his face.  Determined to wipe it off, Tsukishima yanks him forward again, arms snaking around Kuroo’s neck as they fall haphazardly onto the mattress. Kuroo quickly rights their awkward position, pulling Tsukishima’s legs around his waist so that they aren’t hanging off the side of the bed.  Tsukishima’s fingers drag up the side of Kuroo’s face, combing through his hair before latching on in the back so that he can pull Kuroo closer.  The older male falls on top of him, their bodies pressing together at every point from their lips to their thighs, and Tsukishima sighs, smiling against Kuroo’s mouth.

“Hey.” Tsukishima’s eyes open slowly when Kuroo calls out to him.  His face is blurry, and he’s not quite sure where his glasses have gone, but he reaches out and touches Kuroo’s neck just in the spot he knows Kuroo’s splotchy birth mark resides.  “We don’t have to do this just because it’s today.”

Tsukishima feels his lips turn down into a frown, and he lets his nails scrape along the side of Kuroo’s neck. “I want to.”

“Are you sure-?” Kuroo gasps, head hanging forward as he tries to get a good look at where Tsukishima’s hips have just rolled up to meet his own. Tsukishima does it again, clothed erection rubbing against Kuroo’s, smirking as he sees Kuroo’s face squinch up in frustration.  “You’re such a fucking tease.”

“Then stop asking questions.” Tsukishima pulls Kuroo down again, lips meeting in a messy battle for dominance that Tsukishima will only say that he let Kuroo win. Instead of worrying with that, he runs his hands up Kuroo’s stomach and chest, pulling the other’s shirt up until they have to part to remove it completely.  Tsukishima’s shirt follow suit, and soon, the only thing separating them was the thin cloth of their underwear.

Kuroo leaned down, pressing a kiss to the middle of Tsukishima’s belly, making him giggle and squirm.  Kuroo mumbled something about Tsukishima being cute that earned him a smack on the head.  He chuckled to himself, getting far enough off of Tsukishima so that he could discard his boxers before reaching back up to rid Tsukishima of his own.  He grinned when he saw the way his boyfriend was staring at him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly.

Kuroo nudged him with his knee, spreading Tsukishima’s legs apart and calling his attention back to Kuroo’s face.  “You okay, babe?”

Tsukishima nodded slowly, rubbing his lips once over with his tongue.  “Yeah, I just don’t know if I’m ready for…”

Kuroo followed Tsukishima’s line of gaze back down to his erection, and he leaned forward, kissing Tsukishima between the eyes. “Of course not. We can do something else.”

“Like wha-” Tsukishima gasped before he had the opportunity to finish his question.  Kuroo’s hand was cold as it wrapped around him, though it quickly warmed up to his own body temperature as he moved.  Kuroo’s hands were rough and moved in jerky little patterns before he finally settled in to a good motion that had Tsukishima’s nails scraping down his sides.  Kuroo rested his head on Tsukishima’s shoulder, looking down at his hand where his had was moving, taking note of every spot that made Tsukishima gasp, moan or sigh.  After a while, he picked his head up and pecked Tsukishima’s cheek.

Tsukishima inspected Kuroo out of the corner of his eye.  He felt Kuroo’s knee spread his legs a little bit wider, so that the older man could slide closer, body pressing Tsukishima down into the bed.  Kuroo’s breath was hot against his face as he whispered, “Me too.”

Tsukishima’s fingers shook as he took Kuroo into his hand.  It was hot, similar enough to his own that he knew what to do, but still different than touching himself in the darkness of his own room.  But he figure the initial contact was good enough because Kuroo groaned, sagging forward as he let most of his weight fall onto Tsukishima’s chest.

It didn’t take long for either of them to reach their end.  Everything was too fast, too hot, too _loud_ as they were overcome with just how close they were to each other.  Tsukishima pushed on Kuroo’s shoulder, too flustered to deal with the weight and heat of the other’s body on top of him for another second.  Tsukishima carefully leaned over the side of the bed, grabbing one of Kuroo’s dirty towels from the floor to wipe off his stomach before turning back to the man beside him, still laying back, eyes closed, and a big goofy grin on his face.

Tsukishima flopped down on Kuroo’s chest, getting a slap on the arm as Kuroo groaned.  He pressed a few kisses to the side of Kuroo’s neck in apology, before rolling off to lie beside him.

“Okay?”

Kuroo grinned so wide Tsukishima was sure his face would split in two. “Yeah. Great.”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow and pinched Kuroo in the side. “Great? Really?”

“It’s cuz it’s you, Tsuki.  I’m great because it’s you.” Kuroo scooted closer, snuggling his head into the side of Tsukishima’s neck.  “I expect that everything else will get better on a learning curve.”

Tsukishima smiled wryly and pinched Kuroo’s side again.  Kuroo looked up at him, pretending he was hurt until he saw the grin on the blonde’s face.  “The same goes for you, Kuroo.”

Kuroo grinned, kissing Tsukishima’s collarbone before looking back up. “I love you too, Tsuki.”


	3. 3 years, 4 months later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 years, 4 months after the first chapter.

Tsukishima looked in the mirror set up in the student center as he passed, quickly straightening his crooked cap and flattening out his tie. A long line of his fellow science students stood in front of him waiting to get permission to cross the center of campus to the sports coliseum.  He vaguely recognized some of the people in line around him, and Yamaguchi was somewhere close enough that he could hear his friend’s laughter ringing in the hollow atrium.  He was just ready to get this over with already.  There was still a chill in the air, even though summer was supposedly right around the corner.  Just a few more months, and he would be able to start on his graduate degree so that he could eventually become a professor and researcher in the biological sciences.  He already had a few potential jobs lined up, some at this very same university.  He just needed the required qualifications, and he’d be golden.

From the coliseum Tsukishima could hear a dull roar even before he stepped through the wide open double doors.  He looked around at the audience in attendance above, but was quickly blinded by all of the flashing lights.  It wasn’t until he was seated amongst his fellow graduates that he was able to look around again to see who was there.  He turned around when he heard Yamaguchi whispering at him from a couple rows back, his friend frantically pointing to the stands up above.

And there he was, excitedly waving both arms above his head, desperately trying to get Tsukishima’s attention. When he saw that he had his boyfriend’s attention, Kuroo blew a kiss and made a heart with his hands.  He sat down when the university’s president approached the stage, flopping down into a seat right between Tsukishima’s mother and big brother.  Akiteru laughed at something Kuroo said, and Tsukishima saw him blow a kiss to him as well before turning back to the stage.

The ceremony was long. Boring.  The speaker had maybe one good thing to say out of the 30 minutes he talked, but Tsukishima kind of wished that he realized that the 500+ students sitting in this ceremony alone had just endured 4 years of teeth gratingly boring lectures.  Tsukishima was ready to gouge his eyes out by the time the speaker finished and they moved on to the presentation of diplomas.  Not that that wouldn’t take forever in and of itself, but at least, Tsukishima knew, when they finally got down to his name, they would almost be at the end of the list.

Tsukishima crossed the stage with his head held high, a small smirk on his face as he shook first his dean’s hand, and then the president.  He tried not to grimace when he heard Kuroo’s voice carry down to him with proclamations of love and congratulations, but despite the embarrassment, he was still glad Kuroo had been able to get off work long enough to spend a few days with Tsukishima after his graduation.  After little deliberation, Kuroo had eventually decided to join the police force after his own graduation.  His background in the psychological sciences apparently made him some sort of asset to his department, and he barely had the opportunity to get whole weekends off, much less the entire week that Kuroo somehow managed this time.   Tsukishima didn’t mind though. For the next two months of summer, he would be totally free as he relaxed for the first time in the past four years.

The ceremony ended with a flip of hats, and everyone filed out backwards, allowing Tsukishima to be one of the first to exit.  He quickly found Yamaguchi, who had waited for him by the doors, and they made their way through the crowd in an attempt to find their families.

Of course it was Kuroo who found them first, crashing into Tsukishima’s back with such force that it nearly knocked the breath out of him.  Kuroo quickly flipped him around, planting a warm kiss on his lips before a word of congratulations ever left his mouth.  His hands disappeared from Tsukishima’s shoulder when his family arrived, pulling him into their arms and showering him with praises.  His mother brought him into a hug, taking his cap from his hands as he pulled away.  He shook his father’s hand, his strong grip nearly making his cold fingers ache.  Akiteru rubbed his hair before clapping him on the shoulder.  His brother’s smile was proud, happy, and a little bit teary eyed.  Tsukishima didn’t have the opportunity to ask what was the matter before Akiteru turned him back around to face Kuroo.

Kuroo, who had one knee on the ground, the other popped up with Kuroo’s hand propped on it.  He smiled up at Tsukishima impishly, his nervousness pouring out of every part of his body as Tsukishima’s breath caught in his throat.

“Hey, Kei.” Kuroo waved with his hand trying to get Tsukishima to come closer.  Tsukishima felt a couple of hands pressing along his back, pushing him forward until he was close enough for Kuroo to grab his left hand.  “So…I know this isn’t exactly the way you expected your life to turn out when you started college four years ago.”

Tsukishima nodded, smiling gently down at Kuroo.  His palms were sweaty and his hands were shaking, but he wasn’t sure if that was his fault or Kuroo’s.

“But, I’ve told you I love you more times than I can count, and you’ve said the same to me more times than I can count, and believe me I tried at first…and I still love you. I will always love you.  And if you’re still with me here… I’d be the happiest man in the world.” Kuroo fumbled in his pocket for half a second, snapping open a black felt box with a simple silver band inside.  “Tsukishima Kei. Will you-”

“Yes.”  The word left his mouth before he could catch himself, and he tugged on Kuroo’s arm until the other man stood as well.

“Hey I didn’t even-” Kuroo shut up as Tsukishima yanked him forward by his collar, arms tumbling over his shoulders as they met for a hurried press of lips.  When Tsukishima finally pulled away, he whispered a quiet yes again, so only Kuroo could hear before placing a barrage of kisses all over his new fiancée’s face. The crowd of students and other families around them cheered softly, and Tsukishima pulled away with a light pink blush on his face.  He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as Kuroo slipped the ring on his finger, trying to hold back a smile.  But he couldn’t help it as Kuroo threw an arm around his shoulders shouting out that this was the best day of his life.


	4. 6 years later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6 years after the first chapter ends.

A winter wedding. A small affair.  No more than 100 people from both sides of their family combined.  Kei took his breath away at the altar, and he took Kei’s away with the sealing kiss.  The reception was short, just long enough to feed their guests and follow all of the traditions of the wedding night.  Their guests showered their heads with dry rice and flower petals as they left the reception hall, on their way to a small weekend away without the pressure of school or work or wedding planning.

They lay together that night in their hotel room, side by side and legs tangled together under the sheets.  Kei already started to drift to sleep as Kuroo lay awake, dragging his fingers across Kei’s skin.  From his nose to his lips.  Down his arms and over his hips.  Back up his side, and over his chest, until his fingers could grip his chin.  Kuroo leaned forward, pressing his lips softly against Kei’s forehead, smiling when his husband let out a soft sigh at the contact.  Kuroo pulled him forward, Kei’s head tucking neatly beneath Kuroo’s chin, as he allowed himself to be pulled into a dream that couldn’t compare to the one sleeping and wrapped up in his arms.


	5. 10 years later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 years after the first chapter ends.

She came to them as a toddler, barely three years old.  She had a clock of her own with just over 8000 days left.  She liked to tell Tetsurou about what her prince would be like when she finally met him, and how all the stars in the night sky would align and they’d fly off into the sunset on a winged unicorn.  Tetsurou always laughed when she said things like that, gently reminding her that no boy was ever going to be good enough for her.

She had been with them for two years now, and couldn’t remember any other life before this.  Tetsurou was simply Dad, while Kei got to be Daddy.  She liked to go see Tetsurou’s Nan in the nursing home, and always brought flowers and ribbons so that she could learn how to make crowns and bouquets, just like Nan used to do.  She was tall for her age; her head coming up to just at Tetsurou’s mid-thigh even though she was only five.  Her hair was dark like Tetsurou’s, but it was soft and easily managed like Kei’s.  Her eyes were what let everyone know that she wasn’t physically theirs though, as they were as blue and cutting as a wave during winter.  But she was still theirs in every other way.

She liked bows and flowers and the color pink.  She liked to put clips in Dad’s hair and paint Daddy’s toenails.  She had a fluffy white cat she called Sparkles but his full name was Princess Sparkles Fluffybutt the third.  She liked frilly skirts and finger painting and stickers and Tetsurou had pulled her out of her parent’s car when it had crashed in an intersection downtown.

He’d never met them before.  He didn’t even recognize their names.  But he sat down on the road, rocking and soothing their crying little girl as his partner covered them with a blanket.  She only had a scratch on her cheek that the paramedics let him dab with alcohol, his eyes streaming as she screeched and pulled away.  She still held onto him with all the strength left in her little body when they tried to take her away to the hospital.  He ended up riding in the back of the ambulance with her as the medic checked all of her vitals.

He waited at the hospital with her, letting her hold onto his fingers as she drifted off to sleep.  They were trying to find her next of kin.  His chief came in the next morning to announce that while the couple had friends in the area, no one was listed as guardian or next of kin or anything.  He felt like choking when he realized the little girl had no one. No one to go home to, no one to take care of her.  His chief said that a social worker would be by to induct her into the system sometime that afternoon, and that Tetsurou should go home. Get some sleep.  Be ready to work the next day.

It took two months and nearly cost him his job to convince the girl’s social worker to allow him to adopt her.  To allow them to adopt her.

Kei was nervous at first because she stared up at him with those big, blue eyes.  She sucked her thumb and hiccupped when she got nervous, but after a few moments, she was hanging onto Kei’s leg like she had known him her entire life.  For the first month or so, she cried for her mother, but as she got older, Tetsurou just assumed she forgot.  He knew he’d tell her eventually, when she was old enough to understand.  But for now she was just their little girl.

Their little girl who liked to play hopscotch but didn’t have enough coordination to jump on one foot from square to square just yet.  Their little girl who liked to hold their hands and swing between their arms when they walked along the sidewalk.  Their little girl who liked telling her own bedtime stories about dragons and never went to sleep until she was sure there were no dinosaurs outside her window.  Their little girl who begged for a little sister, and pouted when she finally got a little brother.

Kei got no sleep when she was sick, and Tetsurou got no sleep when there were thunderstorms.  But she was still their little girl, so the lack of sleep never really mattered when her smile perked them up every morning.


	6. 20 years later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20 years after the first chapter ends.

The wind was cold, cutting through their home like a knife through bread. Kei shivered as he wrapped his sweater tighter around him, jumping slightly when he felt a hand on his back.  Tetsurou smiled down at him, placing a cup of tea in front of him as he continued to work on his lesson plan for his first week of lectures.  Their children had already returned to school a week prior after a short break for the holidays, but Kei’s university classes still had a few days before starting time. 

Their son had just turned 9 at the end of December and was still in primary school.  He was different from his sister; quiet, reserved, and preferred to keep to his books and video games rather than going out to play sports like his sister.  Tetsurou had found him as well, though not in the same dramatic way that he found their daughter.  He was just doing a routine check on the local children’s home when he noticed a boy sitting far away from the rest of his peers.  He talked to him for a while, and the boy told him all about plants and pandas and the deserts.  It didn’t take much convincing for Kei to agree to bring him home as well.  He had small brown eyes and mousy brown hair and he’d never be as tall as his fathers, and maybe never even as tall as his sister, but he completed their family three years ago.

His sister was 15, a first year at her high school and already the star of her basketball team.  She was taller than all of the other girls in her class, and most of the boys too, yet she still curled her hair every morning and wore a bow in the colors of her high school in her hair during every game and practice.  Tetsurou always scolded her when her skirts were too short, and Kei felt like his heart was breaking whenever he caught her staring at the clock on her wrist instead of studying for her midterms.  They both knew they had a good few years left, but soon, she’d graduate from high school and move on, leaving them behind.

But that was okay in its own way, even if it made them hurt.  Kei knew it was okay from the way Tetsurou still smiled at him over their breakfast table, in the same sly, promising grin that he’d been giving him since they met.  It made their kids gag and whine for them to cut it out, but they waved it away with the promise that they’d understand one day.  Tetsurou knew it was okay by the way Kei still held on to him at night, and by the way Kei’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. 

It was the press of a hand on his waist. A stolen glance in passing.  An unspoken promise for years to come. Two silver rings sitting on the nightstand next to Kei’s head.

It wasn’t what they expected when they were younger. But it was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a belated KuroTsuki day post because I couldn't get this finished in time for Sunday, and also a fill for the AU meme I've been working on. My dearest Iza suggested KuroTsuki soulmates AU, so hopefully this is as good as you've been expecting. Not sure if the whole thing came out as I planned, but I'm still pretty proud because this will officially be the longest non-angsty KuroTsuki fic I've ever written.
> 
> I'm publishing all the chapters in one go, but the main fic is just chapter 1. 2-6 is little extra add ons that made me happy to write~.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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